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Son of a Wallaby legend set for Aussie Sevens debut in Singapore
Former Australia U20s captain Teddy Wilson is in line to make his HSBC SVNS Series debut at the seventh round in Singapore on May 3-5, the penultimate leg in the 2023/24 campaign.
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The son of former Wallaby and Rugby World Cup winner David, Wilson is one of two changes to John Manenti’s side from Hong Kong.
The 21-year-old Waratahs half-back has been called into the squad with Maurice Longbottom (hamstring) and Matt Gonzalez (shoulder) unavailable through injury. James McGregor also returns for his second tournament after making his sevens debut in Cape Town.
Australia have already qualified for the Grand Final in Madrid in June after finishing fourth in Hong Kong, and will be looking to improve their ranking for both the final and the Paris Olympic Games in July.
Manenti said: “As the tournaments roll around, they all become more significant in one way or another. For us, the chance to play consistently remains a key focus. There were heaps of positives to take from Hong Kong and on a short turnaround we have worked on a few areas to improve on for Singapore.
Your #HSBCSVNSHKG winners ?
Don't miss out on tickets for Singapore SVNS, to see if @nz_sevens can continue their winning ways ?#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSSGP
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) April 7, 2024
“On the back of a few injury niggles, we get to welcome Teddy Wilson from the Waratahs into the squad for his debut. We are grateful to the Waratahs to give us the opportunity to play Teddy and know that he will fit right in with the team.
“We also welcome back for his second cap, Jimmy McGregor. He was the standout player in the recent Hong Kong 10s tournament when playing with the PAC Baa-Baas and has been training full-time with us for the past six months.
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“The rest of the squad remains the same, with Michael Hooper getting further exposure after handling Hong Kong well.”
For the women’s side, Tim Walsh has made two key changes with Australian legends Charlotte Caslick and Sharni Smale set to miss the Singapore trip due to niggling injuries.
Dominique du Toit returns from an ankle injury in a timely boost while Lily Dick and Sidney Taylor are the fresh faces in the squad with Bienne Terita also unavailable.
The Aussie women claimed bronze in Hong Kong and are chasing another strong showing with arch-rivals New Zealand currently equal in points at the top of the table.
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“We are after a performance in Singapore as we prepare for the final event in Madrid and the Olympics in July,” Walsh said.
“We are equal top on competition points with New Zealand, which makes for a Singapore showdown, and watching France beat them in Hong Kong at their peak makes for a very competitive last couple of tournaments.
"It’s an important part of the game. A lot of people don’t like it."
– Teddy Wilson, with Liam Heagney ???, on box kicking, the Junior Wallabies and having a Rugby World Cup-winning father. #WorldRugbyU20shttps://t.co/RFHETVCBip
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 8, 2023
“Madison Ashby will captain the team in Charlotte Caslick’s absence and both Bridget Clark and Ruby Nicholas will play in their second cap in Singapore.”
The women’s side start their campaign against Brazil on Friday, May 3, before clashing with Great Britain later that day. The Aussie men face series leaders Argentina in their first match, followed by Canada.
- Click here for all the details about the Singapore SVNS
Comments on RugbyPass
Can’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to comments